Mickey Mouse is an

animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

co-created in 1928 by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

, Mickey is an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

who typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves. Taking inspiration from such

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

personalities as

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

’s

Tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...

, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

who gets by on pluck and ingenuity. The character’s status as a small mouse was personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Disney. Mickey is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters of all time. Created as a replacement for a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey first appeared in the short '' Plane Crazy'', debuting publicly in the short film '' Steamboat Willie'' (1928), one of the first sound cartoons. The character was originally to be named “Mortimer Mouse”, until Lillian Disney instead suggested “Mickey” during a train ride. The character went on to appear in over 130 films, including '' The Band Concert'' (1935), ''

Brave Little Tailor ''Brave Little Tailor'' is a 1938 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is an adaptation of the fairy tale ''The Valiant Little Tailor'' with Mickey Mouse in the title role. It was ...

'' (1938), and ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcor ...

'' (1940). Mickey appeared primarily in short films, but also occasionally in feature-length films. Ten of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

, one of which, '' Lend a Paw'', won the award in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...

. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

. Beginning in 1930, Mickey has also been featured extensively in

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

s and comic books. The ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip, drawn primarily by

Floyd Gottfredson Arthur Floyd Gottfredson (May 5, 1905July 22, 1986) was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip, which he worked on from 1930 until his retirement in 1975. His contribution to Mickey Mouse comi ...

, ran for 45 years. Mickey has also appeared in comic books such as ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

'', Disney Italy's ''

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. It is currently published by Pani ...

'' and '' MM – Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine'', and ''

Wizards of Mickey ''Wizards of Mickey'' is an Italian fantasy comic saga that began in October 2006. It was created by The Walt Disney Company Italy. The first series, ''Wizards of Mickey'', was published in ten parts in '' Topolino'' #2654-2663 (Oct-Dec 2006). ...

''. Mickey also features in television series such as ''

The Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised ...

'' (1955–1996) and others. He appears in other media such as video games as well as merchandising and is a meetable character at the Disney parks. Mickey generally appears alongside his girlfriend

Minnie Mouse Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasional ...

, his pet dog

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

, his friends

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

and

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...

, and his nemesis Pete, among others (see

Mickey Mouse universe The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional universe, fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving The Walt Disney Company, Disney cartoon characters Mickey Mouse, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto (Disney), Pluto, Goofy, and ...

). Though originally characterized as a cheeky lovable rogue, Mickey was rebranded over time as a nice guy, usually seen as an honest and bodacious

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

. In 2009, Disney began to rebrand the character again by putting less emphasis on his friendly, well-meaning persona and reintroducing the more adventurous and stubborn sides of his personality, beginning with the video game ''

Epic Mickey ''Epic Mickey'' is a 2010 platform game for the Wii developed by Junction Point Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios, except in Japan, where it was published by Nintendo. The game focuses on Mickey Mouse, who accidentally damag ...

''.

History

Film

Origin

Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character that was created by the Disney studio but owned by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Charles Mintz Charles Bear Mintz (November 5, 1889 – December 30, 1939)''Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014''. Social Security Administration. was an American film producer and distributor who assumed control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pict ...

served as a middleman producer between Disney and Universal through his company, Winkler Pictures, for the series of cartoons starring Oswald. Ongoing conflicts between Disney and Mintz and the revelation that several animators from the Disney studio would eventually leave to work for Mintz's company ultimately resulted in Disney cutting ties with Oswald. Among the few people who stayed at the Disney studio were animator Ub Iwerks, apprentice artist Les Clark, and

Wilfred Jackson Wilfred Jackson (January 24, 1906 – August 7, 1988) was an American animator, arranger, composer and director best known for his work on the ''Mickey Mouse'' and '' Silly Symphonies'' series of cartoons and the ''Night on Bald Mountain''/''Ave ...

. On his train ride home from New York, Walt brainstormed ideas for a new cartoon character. Mickey Mouse was conceived in secret while Disney produced the final Oswald cartoons he contractually owed Mintz. Disney asked Ub Iwerks to start drawing up new character ideas. Iwerks tried sketches of various animals, such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were also rejected. (They would later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar.) A male frog was also rejected, which later showed up in Iwerks' own '' Flip the Frog'' series. Walt Disney got the inspiration for Mickey Mouse from a tame mouse at his desk at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri.Walt Disney: Conversations (Conversations With Comic Artists Series) by Kathy Merlock Jackson with Walt Disney " page 120 In 1925,

Hugh Harman Hugh Harman (August 31, 1903 – November 25, 1982) was an American animator. He was known for creating the Warner Bros. Cartoons and MGM Cartoons and his collaboration with Rudolf Ising during the golden age of American animation. Career He b ...

drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney. These inspired Ub Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney. "Mortimer Mouse" had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it, and ultimately Mickey Mouse came to be. The actor

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

claimed that, during his Mickey McGuire days, he met cartoonist Walt Disney at the Warner Brothers studio, and that Disney was inspired to name Mickey Mouse after him. This claim, however, has been debunked by Disney historian Jim Korkis, since at the time of Mickey Mouse's development, Disney Studios had been located on Hyperion Avenue for several years, and Walt Disney never kept an office or other working space at Warner Brothers, having no professional relationship with Warner Brothers. Over the years, the name ''Mortimer Mouse'' was eventually given to several different characters in the

: Minnie Mouse's uncle, who appears in several comics stories, one of Mickey's antagonists who competes for Minnie's affections in various cartoons and comics, and one of Mickey's nephews, named Morty.

Debut (1928)

Mickey was first seen in a test screening of the cartoon short '' Plane Crazy'', on May 15, 1928, but it failed to impress the audience and Walt could not find a distributor for the short. Walt went on to produce a second Mickey short, ''

The Gallopin' Gaucho ''The Gallopin' Gaucho'' is the second short film featuring Mickey Mouse to be produced, following '' Plane Crazy'' and preceding ''Steamboat Willie''. The Disney studios completed the silent version in August 1928, but did not release it in or ...

'', which was also not released for lack of a distributor. '' Steamboat Willie'' was first released on November 18, 1928, in New York. It was co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks again served as the head animator, assisted by Johnny Cannon, Les Clark, Wilfred Jackson and Dick Lundy. This short was intended as a parody of

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

's ''

Steamboat Bill, Jr. ''Steamboat Bill, Jr.'' is a 1928 silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton. Released by United Artists, the film is the final product of Keaton's independent production team and set of gag writers. It was not a box-office success and became th ...

'', first released on May 12 of the same year. Although it was the third Mickey cartoon produced, it was the first to find a distributor, and thus is considered by The Disney Company as Mickey's debut. ''Willie'' featured changes to Mickey's appearance (in particular, simplifying his eyes to large dots) that established his look for later cartoons and in numerous Walt Disney films. The cartoon was not the first cartoon to feature a soundtrack connected to the action.

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of ...

, headed by brothers

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

and

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he becam ...

, had already released a number of sound cartoons using the DeForest system in the mid-1920s. However, these cartoons did not keep the sound synchronized throughout the film. For ''Willie'', Disney had the sound recorded with a

click track A click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where optical marks were made on the film to indicate precise timi ...

that kept the musicians on the beat. This precise timing is apparent during the "Turkey in the Straw" sequence when Mickey's actions exactly match the accompanying instruments. Animation historians have long debated who had served as the composer for the film's original music. This role has been variously attributed to Wilfred Jackson,

Carl Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

and Bert Lewis, but identification remains uncertain. Walt Disney himself was voice actor for both Mickey and Minnie and would remain the source of Mickey's voice through 1946 for theatrical cartoons. Jimmy MacDonald took over the role in 1946, but Walt provided Mickey's voice again from 1955 to 1959 for ''

'' television series on ABC. Audiences at the time of ''Steamboat Willie''s release were reportedly impressed by the use of sound for comedic purposes.

Sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

s or "talkies" were still considered innovative. The first feature-length movie with dialogue sequences, '' The Jazz Singer'' starring

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

, was released on October 6, 1927. Within a year of its success, most United States movie theaters had installed sound film equipment. Walt Disney apparently intended to take advantage of this new trend and, arguably, managed to succeed. Most other cartoon studios were still producing silent products and so were unable to effectively act as competition to Disney. As a result, Mickey would soon become the most prominent animated character of the time. Walt Disney soon worked on adding sound to both ''Plane Crazy'' and ''The Gallopin' Gaucho'' (which had originally been silent releases) and their new release added to Mickey's success and popularity. A fourth Mickey short, '' The Barn Dance'', was also put into production; however, Mickey does not actually speak until '' The Karnival Kid'' in 1929 (see below). After ''Steamboat Willie'' was released, Mickey became a close competitor to

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...

, and his popularity would grow as he was continuously featured in sound cartoons. By 1929, Felix would lose popularity among theater audiences, and Pat Sullivan decided to produce all future Felix cartoons in sound as a result. Unfortunately, audiences did not respond well to Felix's transition to sound and by 1930, Felix had faded from the screen.

Black and white films (1929–1935)

In Mickey's early films he was often characterized not as a hero, but as an ineffective young suitor to Minnie Mouse. '' The Barn Dance'' (March 14, 1929) is the first time in which Mickey is turned down by Minnie in favor of Pete. '' The Opry House'' (March 28, 1929) was the first time in which Mickey wore his white gloves. Mickey wears them in almost all of his subsequent appearances and many other characters followed suit. The three lines on the back of Mickey's gloves represent darts in the gloves' fabric extending from between the digits of the hand, typical of glove design of the era. '' When the Cat's Away'' (April 18, 1929), essentially a remake of the '' Alice Comedy'', "Alice Rattled by Rats", was an unusual appearance for Mickey. Although Mickey and Minnie still maintained their anthropomorphic characteristics, they were depicted as the size of regular mice and living with a community of many other mice as pests in a home. Mickey and Minnie would later appear the size of regular humans in their own setting. In appearances with real humans, Mickey has been shown to be about two to three feet high. The next Mickey short was also unusual. '' The Barnyard Battle'' (April 25, 1929) was the only film to depict Mickey as a soldier and also the first to place him in combat. '' The Karnival Kid'' (1929) was the first time Mickey spoke. Before this he had only whistled, laughed, and grunted. His first words were "Hot dogs! Hot dogs!" said while trying to sell hot dogs at a carnival. ''

Mickey's Follies ''Mickey's Follies'' is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on August 28, 1929, as part of the '' Mickey Mouse'' film series. It was directed by Ub Iwerks and Wilfred Jackson, with music by Carl Stalling. It was produced in black ...

'' (1929) introduced the song "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo" which would become the theme song for ''Mickey Mouse'' films for the next several years. The same song sequence was also later reused with different background animation as its own special short shown only at the commencement of 1930s theater-based Mickey Mouse Clubs. Mickey's dog

first appeared as Mickey's pet in ''

The Moose Hunt ''The Moose Hunt'' is a Mickey Mouse short animated film first released on April 30, 1931, as part of the '' Mickey Mouse'' film series. It was the twenty-eighth Mickey Mouse short to be produced and the fourth of 1931. This is the first cartoo ...

'' (1931) after previously appearing as Minnie's dog "Rover" in '' The Picnic'' (1930). '' The Cactus Kid'' (April 11, 1930) was the last film to be animated by Ub Iwerks at Disney. Shortly before the release of the film, Iwerks left to start his own studio, bankrolled by Disney's then-distributor Pat Powers. Powers and Disney had a falling out over money due Disney from the distribution deal. It was in response to losing the right to distribute Disney's cartoons that Powers made the deal with Iwerks, who had long harbored a desire to head his own studio. The departure is considered a turning point in Mickey's career, as well as that of Walt Disney. Walt lost the man who served as his closest colleague and confidant since 1919. Mickey lost the man responsible for his original design and for the direction or animation of several of the shorts released till this point. Advertising for the early Mickey Mouse cartoons credited them as "A Walt Disney Comic, drawn by Ub Iwerks". Later Disney Company reissues of the early cartoons tend to credit Walt Disney alone. Disney and his remaining staff continued the production of the Mickey series, and he was able to eventually find a number of animators to replace Iwerks. As the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

progressed and Felix the Cat faded from the movie screen, Mickey's popularity would rise, and by 1932 The Mickey Mouse Club would have one million members. At the

5th Academy Awards The 5th Academy Awards were held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 18, 1932, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Conrad Nagel. Films screened in Los Angeles between August 1, 1931, and J ...

in 1932, Mickey received his first Academy Award nomination, received for '' Mickey's Orphans'' (1931). Walt Disney also received an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Despite being eclipsed by the ''

Silly Symphony ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces ...

'' short the ''

Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

'' in 1933, Mickey still maintained great popularity among theater audiences too, until 1935, when polls showed that

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Koszarski, Richard (1976)
Hollywood directors, 1914–1940, Volume 1
Oxford University Press. (Quotes ''DeMille. 1935''). By 1934, Mickey merchandise had earned $600,000 a year. In 1935, Disney began to phase out the Mickey Mouse Clubs, due to administration problems. About this time, story artists at Disney were finding it increasingly difficult to write material for Mickey. As he had developed into a role model for children, they were limited in the types of gags they could present. This led to Mickey taking more of a secondary role in some of his next films, allowing for more emphasis on other characters. In ''

Orphan's Benefit ''Orphan's Benefit'' (sic; original title) is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions in black-and-white. It was first released in 1934 and was later remade in Technicolor in 1941 under the correc ...

'' (1934), Mickey first appeared with

who had been introduced earlier that year in the ''

'' series. The tempestuous duck would provide Disney with seemingly endless story ideas and would remain a recurring character in Mickey's cartoons.

Color films (1935–1953)

Mickey first appeared animated in color in ''

Parade of the Award Nominees ''Parade of the Award Nominees'' is a Mickey Mouse short which was made for the 1932 banquet for the 5th Academy Awards, featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends leading a parade of caricatured Hollywood stars. The short is the first Mickey Mous ...

'' in 1932; however, the film strip was created for the

ceremony and was not released to the public. Mickey's official first color film came in 1935 with '' The Band Concert''. The

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film process was used in the film production. Here Mickey conducted the ''

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, a ...

'', but the band is swept up by a tornado. It is said that conductor

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

so loved this short that, upon first seeing it, he asked the projectionist to run it again. In 1994, ''The Band Concert'' was voted the third-greatest cartoon of all time in a poll of animation professionals. By colorizing and partially redesigning Mickey, Walt would put Mickey back on top once again, and Mickey would reach popularity he never reached before as audiences now gave him more appeal. Also in 1935, Walt would receive a special award from the League of Nations for creating Mickey. However, by 1938, the more manic

would surpass the passive Mickey, resulting in a redesign of the mouse between 1938 and 1940 that put Mickey at the peak of his popularity. The second half of the 1930s saw the character

reintroduced as a series regular. Together, Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy would go on several adventures together. Several of the films by the comic trio are some of Mickey's most critically acclaimed films, including ''

Mickey's Fire Brigade ''Mickey's Fire Brigade'' is a 1935 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon stars Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy employed as firefighters responding to a hotel fire. It w ...

'' (1935), '' Moose Hunters'' (1937), ''

Clock Cleaners ''Clock Cleaners'' is a 1937 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon follows Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy working as janitors in a tall clock tower. The film was di ...

'' (1937), '' Lonesome Ghosts'' (1937), ''

Boat Builders This is a list of boat builders, for which there is a Wikipedia article. Motorboats (<50 feet)

American Skier

* ...

'' (1938), and '' Mickey's Trailer'' (1938). Also during this era, Mickey would star in ''

'' (1938), an adaptation of '' The Valiant Little Tailor'', which was nominated for an Academy Award. Mickey was redesigned by animator Fred Moore which was first seen in ''

The Pointer ''The Pointer'' is a 1939 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures on July 21, 1939. The short was directed by Clyde Geronimi and animated by Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, Lynn Karp, Seamus ...

'' (1939). Instead of having solid black eyes, Mickey was given white eyes with pupils, a Caucasian skin colored face, and a pear-shaped body. In the 1940s, he changed once more in '' The Little Whirlwind'', where he used his trademark pants for the last time in decades, lost his tail, got more realistic ears that changed with perspective and a different body anatomy. But this change would only last for a short period of time before returning to the one in "''The Pointer''", with the exception of his pants. In his final theatrical cartoons in the 1950s, he was given eyebrows, which were removed in the more recent cartoons. In 1940, Mickey appeared in his first feature-length film, ''

''. His screen role as

The Sorcerer's Apprentice "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (german: "Der Zauberlehrling", link=no, italic=no) is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas. Story The poem begins as an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving ...

, set to the

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

of the same name by

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...

, is perhaps the most famous segment of the film and one of Mickey's most iconic roles. The apprentice (Mickey), not willing to do his chores, puts on the sorcerer's magic hat after the sorcerer goes to bed and casts a spell on a broom, which causes the broom to come to life and perform the most tiring chore—filling up a deep well using two buckets of water. When the well eventually overflows, Mickey finds himself unable to control the broom, leading to a near-flood. After the segment ends, Mickey is seen in silhouette shaking hands with

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

, who conducts all the music heard in ''Fantasia''. Mickey has often been pictured in the red robe and blue sorcerer's hat in merchandising. It was also featured into the climax of

Fantasmic! ''Fantasmic!'' is a nighttime show at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show formerly operated at Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searc ...

, an attraction at the Disney theme parks. After 1940, Mickey's popularity would decline until his 1955 re-emergence as a daily children's television personality. Despite this, the character continued to appear regularly in animated shorts until 1943 (winning his only competitive Academy Award—with canine companion

—for a short subject, ''Lend a Paw'') and again from 1946 to 1952. In these later cartoons, Mickey was often just a supporting character in his own shorts, where Pluto would be the main character. The last regular installment of the ''Mickey Mouse'' film series came in 1953 with '' The Simple Things'' in which Mickey and Pluto go fishing and are pestered by a flock of seagulls.

Television and later films

In the 1950s, Mickey became more known for his appearances on television, particularly with ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Many of his theatrical cartoon shorts were rereleased on television series such as ''Ink & Paint Club'', various forms of the

Walt Disney anthology television series The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

, and on home video. Mickey returned to theatrical animation in 1983 with ''

Mickey's Christmas Carol ''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' is a 1983 American animated family comedy-drama featurette directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The cartoon is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', and stars Scrooge McDuck as ...

'', an adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

' ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'' in which Mickey played

Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge (and possibly Jacob Marley, when he was alive), Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working condi ...

. This was followed up in 1990 with ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547 ...

''. Throughout the decades, Mickey Mouse competed with Warner Bros.'

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

for animated popularity. But in 1988, the two rivals finally shared screen time in the

Robert Zemeckis Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy '' Romancing the Stone'' (1984), the science-fiction comedy '' Back to the Future'' film ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

/ Amblin film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...

''. Disney and Warner signed an agreement stating that each character had the same amount of screen time in the scene. Similar to his animated inclusion into a live-action film in ''Roger Rabbit'', Mickey made a featured cameo appearance in the 1990 television special ''

The Muppets at Walt Disney World ''The Muppets at Walt Disney World'' is a television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The special aired on NBC as part of ''The Magical World of Disney'' on May 6, 1990, and turned out to ...

'' where he met

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

. The two are established in the story as having been old friends, although they have not made any other appearance together outside of this. His most recent theatrical cartoon short was 2013's '' Get a Horse!'' which was preceded by 1995's '' Runaway Brain'', while from 1999 to 2004, he appeared in direct-to-video features like ''

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas ''Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas'' is a 1999 American animated Christmas anthology comedy fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The film includes three features: ''Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas'' (featuring Donald Duck, ...

'', '' Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers'' and the computer-animated ''

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas ''Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas'' is a 2004 American Christmas package film directed by Matthew O'Callaghan. Segments of the anthology film were directed by Peggy Holmes, O'Callaghan, Theresa Cullen, and Carole Holliday. It was produced by ...

''. Many television series have centered on Mickey, such as the ABC shows ''

Mickey Mouse Works ''Mickey Mouse Works'' (also known as ''Disney's Mickey Mouse Works'' or simply ''Mouse Works'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends in a series of animate ...

'' (1999–2000), ''

Disney's House of Mouse ''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to its finale ...

'' (2001–2003),

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

's ''

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'' is an American interactive computer-animated children's television series which aired from May 5, 2006, to November 6, 2016 on the Disney Channel. Produced by Disney Television Animation, it is the first computer-a ...

'' (2006–2016), ''

Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures ''Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures'' is an American CGI-animated preschool television series that was broadcast on Disney Junior. Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series is the successor to ''Mickey Mouse Clubhouse''. Originally ...

'' (2017–2021) and ''

Mickey Mouse Funhouse ''Mickey Mouse Funhouse'' is an American CGI-animated children's television series created by Phil Weinstein and Thomas Hart and is the successor to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures. The series debuted with a special on ...

'' (2021–). Prior to all these, Mickey was also featured as an

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...

in the '' Bonkers'' episode "You Oughta Be In Toons". In 2013,

started airing new 3-minute ''

'' shorts, with animator Paul Rudish at the helm, incorporating elements of Mickey's late twenties-early thirties look with a contemporary twist. The creative team behind the 2017 ''DuckTales'' reboot had hoped to have Mickey Mouse in the series, but this idea was rejected by Disney executives. However, this did not stop them from including a watermelon shaped like Mickey Mouse that Donald Duck made and used like a ventriloquist dummy (to the point where he had perfectly replicated his voice (supplied by

Chris Diamantopoulos Chris Diamantopoulos (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series '' Silicon Valley'' and starred in the film '' The Three Stooges'', and the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. He currently voices Mickey Mouse ...

)) while he was stranded on a deserted island during the season two finale. On November 10, 2020, the series was revived as ''

The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse ''The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse'' is an American animated streaming television series produced by Disney Television Animation for Disney+. The series is a continuation and revival of the Emmy Award-winning 2013 ''Mickey Mouse'' shorts, uses ...

'' and premiered on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

In August 2018, ABC television announced a two-hour prime time special, ''

Mickey's 90th Spectacular ''Mickey's 90th Spectacular'' is a two-hour television special broadcast on ABC on November 4, 2018. It celebrates the 90th anniversary of the debut of Walt Disney's animated character Mickey Mouse. Production On August 7, 2018, Disney announced ' ...

'', in honor of Mickey's 90th birthday. The program featured never-before-seen short videos and several other celebrities who wanted to share their memories about Mickey Mouse and performed some of the Disney songs to impress Mickey. The show took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and was produced and directed by Don Mischer on November 4, 2018. On November 18, 2018, a 90th anniversary event for the character was celebrated around the world. In December 2019, both Mickey and Minnie served as special co-hosts of ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or '' Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-J ...

'' for two weeks while Vanna White served as the main host during Pat Sajak's absence. Mickey is the subject of the 2022

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

'' Mickey: The Story of a Mouse'', directed by Jeff Malmberg. Debuting at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

film festival prior to its premiere on the Disney+ streaming service, the documentary examines the history and cultural impact of Mickey Mouse across. The feature is accompanied by an original, hand-drawn animated short film starring Mickey titled ''Mickey in a Minute''.

Comics

Mickey first appeared in comics after he had appeared in 15 commercially successful animated shorts and was easily recognized by the public. Walt Disney was approached by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editori ...

with the offer to license Mickey and his supporting characters for use in a comic strip. Disney accepted and ''Mickey Mouse'' made its first appearance on January 13, 1930. The comical plot was credited to Disney himself, art to Ub Iwerks and inking to Win Smith. The first week or so of the strip featured a loose adaptation of "''Plane Crazy''". Minnie soon became the first addition to the cast. The strips first released between January 13, 1930, and March 31, 1930, has been occasionally reprinted in comic book form under the collective title ''"Lost on a Desert Island''". Animation historian Jim Korkis notes "After the eighteenth strip, Iwerks left and his inker, Win Smith, continued drawing the gag-a-day format." In early 1930, after Iwerks' departure, Disney was at first content to continue scripting the Mickey Mouse comic strip, assigning the art to Win Smith. However, Disney's focus had always been in animation and Smith was soon assigned with the scripting as well. Smith was apparently discontent at the prospect of having to script, draw, and ink a series by himself as evidenced by his sudden resignation. Disney then searched for a replacement among the remaining staff of the Studio. He selected

, a recently hired employee. At the time Gottfredson was reportedly eager to work in animation and somewhat reluctant to accept his new assignment. Disney had to assure him the assignment was only temporary and that he would eventually return to animation. Gottfredson accepted and ended up holding this "temporary" assignment from May 5, 1930, to November 15, 1975. Walt Disney's last script for the strip appeared May 17, 1930. Gottfredson's first task was to finish the storyline Disney had started on April 1, 1930. The storyline was completed on September 20, 1930, and later reprinted in comic book form as ''Mickey Mouse in Death Valley''. This early adventure expanded the cast of the strip which to this point only included Mickey and Minnie. Among the characters who had their first comic strip appearances in this story were Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, and Black Pete as well as the debuts of corrupted lawyer Sylvester Shyster and Minnie's uncle Mortimer Mouse. The Death Valley narrative was followed by ''Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers'', first printed between September 22 and December 26, 1930, which introduced Marcus Mouse and his wife as Minnie's parents. Starting with these two early comic strip stories, Mickey's versions in animation and comics are considered to have diverged from each other. While Disney and his

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

shorts would continue to focus on comedy, the comic strip effectively combined comedy and adventure. This adventurous version of Mickey would continue to appear in comic strips and later comic books throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. Floyd Gottfredson left his mark with stories such as ''Mickey Mouse Joins the Foreign Legion'' (1936) and ''The Gleam'' (1942). He also created the Phantom Blot, Eega Beeva, Morty and Ferdie, Captain Churchmouse, and Butch. Besides Gottfredson artists for the strip over the years included Roman Arambula, Rick Hoover, Manuel Gonzales,

Carson Van Osten Carson Van Osten (September 24, 1945 – December 22, 2015) was an American comics creator and musician. Early life Van Osten studied at the Philadelphia College of Art. Career Music In 1966, he played in the band Woody's Truck Stop, before f ...

, Jim Engel, Bill Wright, Ted Thwailes and

Daan Jippes Daniel Jan "Daan" Jippes (born 14 October 1945) is a Dutch cartoonist who's known for his work on Disney comics. In the 1980s and 1990s he drew many covers for Gladstone Publishing's Disney magazines. In the 1990s he redrew for Egmont old Juni ...

; writers included Ted Osborne,

Merrill De Maris Merrill De Maris (February 26, 1898, New Jersey – December 31, 1948, Escondido, California) was an American writer who worked on Disney comic strips for King Features Syndicate. De Maris helped Floyd Gottfredson with many of his early ''Micke ...

, Bill Walsh, Dick Shaw, Roy Williams, Del Connell, and

Floyd Norman Floyd E. Norman (born June 22, 1935) is an American animator, writer, and comic book artist. Over the course of his career, Norman has worked for various animation companies, among them Walt Disney Animation Studios, Hanna-Barbera Productions, ...

. The next artist to leave his mark on the character was

Paul Murry Paul Murry (November 25, 1911 – August 4, 1989) was an American cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his Disney comics, which appeared in Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics from 1946 to 1984, particularly the Mickey Mouse and Goo ...

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...

. His first Mickey tale appeared in 1950 but Mickey did not become a specialty until Murry's first serial for ''

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chip ...

'' in 1953 ("The Last Resort"). In the same period, Romano Scarpa in Italy for the magazine ''Topolino'' began to revitalize Mickey in stories that brought back the Phantom Blot and Eega Beeva along with new creations such as the Atomo Bleep-Bleep. While the stories at

Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...

during the Silver Age emphasized Mickey as a detective in the style of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, in the modern era several editors and creators have consciously undertaken to depict a more vigorous Mickey in the mold of the classic Gottfredson adventures. This renaissance has been spearheaded by

Byron Erickson Byron Erickson (born February 3, 1951, in Tucson, Arizona) is an American editor and writer in the comic book industry. He works at Egmont on Disney comic books, and was formerly Don Rosa's editor. Erickson began working at Another Rainbow Pub ...

David Gerstein David Gerstein (born February 6, 1974) is an American comics author and editor as well as an animation historian. Gerstein has five books and countless comic book credits to his name. He has written many Disney comics stories, usually featuring ...

Noel Van Horn Noel Van Horn (born July 6, 1968) is a cartoonist born in the United States and living in Canada. He mainly produces Disney comics starring Mickey Mouse. He is the son of William Van Horn, a comics artist who is also well known for his work in Di ...

Michael T. Gilbert Michael Terry Gilbert (born May 7, 1951) is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked for both mainstream and underground comic book companies. Education Gilbert attended the State University of New York at New Paltz, graduating ...

and

César Ferioli César Ferioli Pelaez (born 22 July 1959) is a Spanish comic book artist. He is best known for his Mickey Mouse comics, which are primarily inspired by Floyd Gottfredson's classic newspaper strip stories with Mickey Mouse. Since 1989, Ferioli has ...

. In Europe, Mickey Mouse became the main attraction of a number of comics magazines, the most famous being ''

'' in Italy from 1932 onward, ''

Le Journal de Mickey ''Le Journal de Mickey'' is a French weekly comics magazine established in 1934, featuring Disney comics from France and around the world. The magazine is currently published by Unique Heritage Media. It is centered on the adventures of Mickey Mou ...

'' in France from 1934 onward, '' Don Miki'' in Spain and the Greek ''

Miky Maous ''Miky Maous'' is a Greek weekly comic that was first published on 1 July 1966, by Christos Terzopoulos. In 2006, the magazine surpassed 2000 issues and forty years of consecutive weekly print. It was the second oldest comic title in Greece until i ...

''. Mickey was the main character for the series''

MM Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine ''MM – Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine'' was an Italian monthly comic, published by Disney Italy from May 1999 to March 2001, about Mickey Mouse and his investigation in the city of Anderville. Overview The series, a noir story starring Mickey Mo ...

'', published in Italy from 1999 to 2001. In 2006, he appeared in the Italian fantasy comic saga ''

''. In 1958, Mickey Mouse was introduced to the Arab world through another comic book called “Sameer”. He became very popular in Egypt and got a comic book with his name. Mickey's comics in Egypt are licensed by Disney and were published since 1959 by “Dar Al-Hilal” and they were successful, however Dar Al-Hilal stopped the publication in 2003 because of problems with Disney. The comics were re-released by "Nahdat Masr" in 2004 and the first issues were sold out in less than 8 hours.

Portrayal

Design

Throughout the earlier years, Mickey's design bore heavy resemblance to

Oswald Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name *Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbur ...

, save for the ears, nose, and tail. Ub Iwerks designed Mickey's body out of circles in order to make the character simple to animate. Disney employees

John Hench John Hench (June 29, 1908 – February 5, 2004) was an American artist, designer and director at The Walt Disney Company. For 65 years, he helped design and develop various Disney attractions and theme parks. Early life Hench was born on June 2 ...

and Marc Davis believed that this design was part of Mickey's success as it made him more dynamic and appealing to audiences. Mickey's circular design is most noticeable in his ears. In animation in the 1940s, Mickey's ears were animated in a more realistic perspective. Later, they were drawn to always appear circular no matter which way Mickey was facing. This made Mickey easily recognizable to audiences and made his ears an unofficial personal trademark. The circular rule later created a dilemma for toy creators who had to recreate a three-dimensional Mickey. In 1938, animator Fred Moore redesigned Mickey's body away from its circular design to a pear-shaped design. Colleague

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honore ...

praised Moore for being the first animator to break from Mickey's " rubber hose, round circle" design. Although Moore himself was nervous at first about changing Mickey, Walt Disney liked the new design and told Moore "that's the way I want Mickey to be drawn from now on." Each of Mickey's hands has only three fingers and a thumb. Disney said that this was both an artistic and financial decision, explaining, "Artistically five digits are too many for a mouse. His hand would look like a bunch of bananas. Financially, not having an extra finger in each of 45,000 drawings that make up a six and one-half minute short has saved the Studio millions." In the film '' The Opry House'' (1929), Mickey was first given white gloves as a way of contrasting his naturally black hands against his black body. The use of white gloves would prove to be an influential design for cartoon characters, particularly with later Disney characters, but also with non-Disney characters such as

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

Mighty Mouse Mighty Mouse is an American animated anthropomorphic superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox. The character was originally called Super Mouse, and made his debut in the 1942 short ''The Mouse of Tomorro ...

Mario is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

, and

Sonic The Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

. Mickey's eyes, as drawn in '' Plane Crazy'' and ''

'', were large and white with black outlines. In '' Steamboat Willie,'' the bottom portion of the black outlines was removed, although the upper edges still contrasted with his head. Mickey's eyes were later re-imagined as only consisting of the small black dots which were originally his pupils, while what were the upper edges of his eyes became a hairline. This is evident only when Mickey blinks. Fred Moore later redesigned the eyes to be small white eyes with pupils and gave his face a Caucasian skin tone instead of plain white. This new Mickey first appeared in 1938 on the cover of a party program, and in animation the following year with the release of ''

''. Mickey is sometimes given eyebrows as seen in '' The Simple Things'' (1953) and in the comic strip, although he does not have eyebrows in his subsequent appearances. Originally characters had black hands, but Frank Thomas said this was changed for visibility reasons. According to Disney's Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, written by former Disney animators Frank Thomas and

Ollie Johnston Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death from natural causes. He was recognized by The Wal ...

, "The characters were in black and white with no shades of grey to soften the contrast or delineate a form. Mickey's body was black, his arms and his hands- all black. There was no way to stage an action except in silhouette. How else could there be any clarity? A hand in front of a chest would simply disappear." Multiple sources state that Mickey's characteristics, particularly the black body combined with the large white eyes, white mouth, and the white gloves, evolved from

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

caricatures used in

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

s. Besides Mickey's gloves and shoes, he typically wears only a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front. Before Mickey was seen regularly in color animation, Mickey's shorts were either red or a dull blue-green. With the advent of Mickey's color films, the shorts were always red. When Mickey is not wearing his red shorts, he is often still wearing red clothing such as a red bandmaster coat ('' The Band Concert'', ''

''), red overalls (''

'', ''

Boat Builders This is a list of boat builders, for which there is a Wikipedia article. Motorboats (<50 feet)

American Skier

* ...

''), a red cloak (''

'', '' Fun and Fancy Free''), a red coat (''

Squatter's Rights Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land (real property)—may ...

'', ''

''), or a red shirt (''Mickey Down Under'', '' The Simple Things'').

Voice actors

A large part of Mickey's screen persona is his famously shy,

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

voice. From 1928 onward, Mickey was voiced by Walt Disney himself, a task in which Disney took great personal pride. Composer Carl W. Stalling was the first person to provide lines for Mickey in the 1929 shorts '' The Karnival Kid'' and '' Wild Waves'', and J. Donald Wilson and Joe Twerp provided the voice in some 1938 broadcasts of ''

The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air ''The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air'' was a 1938 musical-variety radio series for children, sponsored by Pepsodent and heard on NBC on Sunday afternoons, featuring Mickey Mouse and other characters from Walt Disney cartoons. There were a total of ...

'', although Disney remained Mickey's official voice during this period. However, by 1946, Disney was becoming too busy with running the studio to do regular voice work which meant he could not do Mickey's voice on a regular basis anymore. It is also speculated that his cigarette habit had damaged his voice over the years. After recording the ''Mickey and the Beanstalk'' section of '' Fun and Fancy Free'', Mickey's voice was handed over to veteran Disney musician and actor Jimmy MacDonald. Walt would reprise Mickey's voice occasionally until his passing in 1966, such as in the introductions to the original 1955–1959 run of ''

'' TV series, the "Fourth Anniversary Show" episode of the Walt Disney's Disneyland TV series that aired on September 11, 1957, and the ''Disneyland USA at Radio City Music Hall'' show from 1962. MacDonald voiced Mickey in most of the remaining theatrical shorts and for various television and publicity projects up until his retirement in 1976. However, other actors would occasionally play the role during this era. Clarence Nash, the voice of

, provided the voice in three of Mickey's theatrical shorts, ''

The Dognapper ''The Dognapper'' is a 1934 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by United Artists. The cartoon stars Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as police officers who chase Pegleg Pete after he dognaps Fifi, Minnie Mouse's ...

'', ''

R'coon Dawg ''R'coon Dawg'' is a 1951 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney and directed by Charles August Nichols. It was the 123rd short in the ''Mickey Mouse'' film series to be released, and the only one produced that year. Even though ...

'', and '' Pluto's Party''.

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include "St. George and the Dragonet" ...

voiced Mickey in the Freberg-produced record ''Mickey Mouse's Birthday Party''. Alan Young voiced Mickey in the Disneyland record album ''An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players'' in 1974. The 1983 short film ''

'' marked the theatrical debut of Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, who was the official voice of Mickey from 1977 until his death in 2009, although MacDonald returned to voice Mickey for an appearance at the

50th Academy Awards The 50th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1977 and took place on April 3, 1978, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST ...

in 1978. Allwine once recounted something MacDonald had told him about voicing Mickey: "The main piece of advice that Jim gave me about Mickey helped me keep things in perspective. He said, 'Just remember kid, you're only filling in for the boss.' And that's the way he treated doing Mickey for years and years. From Walt, and now from Jimmy." In 1991, Allwine married

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until h ...

, the voice of

from 1986 until her death in 2019. Les Perkins did the voice of Mickey in two TV specials, "Down and Out with Donald Duck" and "DTV Valentine", in the mid-1980s. Peter Renaday voiced Mickey in the 1980s Disney albums ''Yankee Doodle Mickey'' and ''Mickey Mouse Splashdance''. He also provided his voice for '' The Talking Mickey Mouse'' toy in 1986. Quinton Flynn briefly filled in for Allwine as the voice of Mickey in a few episodes of the first season of ''

'' whenever Allwine was unavailable to record.

Bret Iwan Bret William Iwan (born September 10, 1982) is an American voice actor and illustrator. He has been the fourth official voice of Mickey Mouse following the death of Wayne Allwine in May 2009. Early life Iwan was born on September 10, 1982, and ...

, a former

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

greeting card artist, is one of the current voices of Mickey. Iwan was originally cast as an understudy for Allwine due to the latter's declining health, but Allwine died before Iwan could get a chance to meet him and Iwan became the new official voice of the character at the time. Iwan's early recordings in 2009 included work for the

Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, Englan ...

, Mickey toys, the Disney theme parks and the

Disney on Ice Disney on Ice, originally Walt Disney's World on Ice, is a series of touring ice shows produced by Feld Entertainment's Ice Follies And Holiday on Ice, Inc. under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows f ...

: Celebrations! ice show. He directly replaced Allwine as Mickey for the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series and the TV series ''

''. His first video game voice-over of Mickey Mouse can be heard in '' Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep''. Iwan also became the first voice actor to portray Mickey during Disney's rebranding of the character, providing the vocal effects of Mickey in ''

'' as well as his voice in '' Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two'' and the remake of '' Castle of Illusion''.

is the first voice of Mickey Mouse to be nominated for two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and two

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally des ...

, in the award-winning Mickey Mouse 2013 animated series developed by Paul Rudish, and the 2017 ''

DuckTales ''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...

'' reboot (in the form of a watermelon that Donald uses as a ventriloquist dummy), as the producers were looking for a voice closer to Walt Disney's portrayal of the character in order to match the vintage look of that series. Diamantopoulos also speaks and sings for Mickey Mouse in the

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

attraction

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway is a trackless dark ride in Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and forthcoming in Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The attraction—the first Mickey Mouse-theme ...

. Songs featuring Diamantopoulos as Mickey Mouse from that attraction, as well as soundtrack songs from the recent Disney+ series ''

'' streaming on various platforms.

Merchandising

Since his early years, Mickey Mouse has been licensed by Disney to appear on many different kinds of merchandise. Mickey was produced as plush toys and figurines, and Mickey's image has graced almost everything from T-shirts to lunchboxes. Largely responsible for early Disney merchandising was

Kay Kamen Herman "Kay" Kamen (born Herman Samuel Kominetzky; January 27, 1892 – October 28, 1949) was an American merchandising executive, noted primarily for his work with the Walt Disney Company. He promoted Mickey Mouse – the most popular cartoon c ...

, Disney's head of merchandise and licensing from 1932 until his death in 1949, who was called a "stickler for quality." Kamen was recognized by The Walt Disney Company as having a significant part in Mickey's rise to stardom and was named a Disney Legend in 1998. At the time of his 80th-anniversary celebration in 2008, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' declared Mickey Mouse one of the world's most recognized characters, even when compared against

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

. Disney officials have stated that 98% of children aged 3–11 around the world are at least aware of the character.

Disney parks

As the official Walt Disney mascot, Mickey has played a central role in the

Disney parks Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apr ...

since the opening of

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

in 1955. As with other characters, Mickey is often portrayed by a non-speaking costumed actor. In this form, he has participated in ceremonies and countless parades, and poses for photographs with guests. As of the presidency of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

(who jokingly referred to him as "a world leader who has bigger ears than me") Mickey has met every U.S. president since

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson.Suddath, Claire.
A Brief History of Mickey Mouse
" ''

''. November 18, 2008. Mickey also features in several specific attractions at the Disney parks.

Mickey's Toontown Mickey's Toontown is a themed land at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland, two theme parks operated by Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and The Oriental Land Company respectively. At Tokyo Disneyland, this land is named Toontown. A similar land existe ...

(Disneyland and

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...

) is a themed land which is a recreation of Mickey's neighborhood. Buildings are built in a cartoon style and guests can visit Mickey or Minnie's houses,

's boat, or

's garage. This is a common place to meet the characters. Mickey's PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland,

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...

) is a

4D film 4D film is a high technology multisensory presentation system combining motion pictures with physical effects that are synchronized and occur in the theatre. Effects simulated in 4D films include motion, vibration, scent, rain, mist, bubbles, fo ...

which features Mickey in the familiar role of symphony conductor. At

Main Street Cinema The Main Street Cinema is a small movie theater currently located on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland and previously at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. Disneyland Version When the theater opened on the park's opening day on July 17, 19 ...

several of Mickey's short films are shown on a rotating basis; the sixth film is always '' Steamboat Willie''. Mickey plays a central role in ''

'' (

Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks ...

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

) a live nighttime show which famously features Mickey in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Mickey was also a central character in the now-defunct

Mickey Mouse Revue The Mickey Mouse Revue was an indoor audio-animatronic stage show in the Fantasyland areas of the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland theme parks. It was one of the three original opening day attractions in the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland in 1971 ...

(Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland) which was an indoor show featuring animatronic characters. Mickey's face formerly graced the

Mickey's Fun Wheel Pixar Pal-A-Round (formerly known as the Sun Wheel and Mickey's Fun Wheel) is a eccentric wheel at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The attraction opened to the public on February 8, 2001 at Paradis ...

(now Pixar Pal-A-Round) at Disney California Adventure Park, where a figure of him also stands on top of

Silly Symphony Swings Silly Symphony Swings is a wave swinger attraction in Paradise Gardens Park at the Disneyland Resort in California. Themed to Disney's 1935 short film '' The Band Concert'', Mickey Mouse conducts from high atop the attraction, synchronized with ...

. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Disney's Hollywood Studios is a trackless dark ride themed to Mickey Mouse. In addition to Mickey's overt presence in the parks, numerous images of him are also subtly included in sometimes unexpected places. This phenomenon is known as "

Hidden Mickeys A Hidden Mickey is a representation of Mickey Mouse that has been inserted subtly into the design of a ride, attraction, or other location in a Disney theme park, Disney properties, animated film, feature-length movie, TV series, or other Disney ...

", involving hidden images in Disney films, theme parks, and merchandise.

Video games

Like many popular characters, Mickey has starred in many

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

, including '' Mickey Mousecapade'' on the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

, '' Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse'', '' Mickey's Ultimate Challenge'', and ''

Disney's Magical Quest ''Disney's Magical Quest'' is a Disney platform game trilogy released by Capcom. The games star Mickey Mouse and (depending on the game version) either Minnie Mouse or Donald Duck, who must defeat Pete. The gameplay is similar amongst all games i ...

'' on the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eu ...

, '' Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse'' on the Mega Drive/Genesis, '' Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands!'' on the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

, and many others. In the 2000s, the ''Disney's Magical Quest'' series were ported to the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...

, while Mickey made his sixth generation era debut in ''

Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse ''Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse'' is a 2002 point-and-click adventure video game developed by Capcom and published by Nintendo for the GameCube & licensed from Disney. Gameplay The game uses a simple point-and-click mechanic, simil ...

'', a

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

title aimed at younger audiences. Mickey plays a major role in the ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square ...

'' series, as the king of Disney Castle and aided to the protagonist, Sora and his friends. King Mickey wields the

Keyblade The ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series, developed by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney, is set in a universe consisting of numerous self-contained worlds based on intellectual properties from both companies. Most worlds are based on diff ...

, a weapon in the form of a key that has the power to open any lock and combat darkness. ''

'', featuring a darker version of the Disney universe, was released in 2010 for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

. The game is part of an effort by

to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character by moving away from his current squeaky clean image and reintroducing the mischievous side of his personality.

Watches and clock

Mickey was most famously featured on wristwatches and alarm clocks, typically utilizing his hands as the actual hands on the face of the clock. The first Mickey Mouse watches were manufactured in 1933 by the

Ingersoll Watch Company The Ingersoll Watch Company is currently owned by Zeon Watches, a British subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based company Herald Group. The brand originated in the United States of America in 1882 but is in Austria now. Origins Ingersoll Watch Compan ...

. The seconds were indicated by a turning disk below Mickey. The first Mickey watch was sold at the

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

in Chicago, 1933 for $3.75 (). Mickey Mouse watches have been sold by other companies and designers throughout the years, including Timex, Elgin, Helbros, Bradley, Lorus, and

Gérald Genta Gérald Charles Genta (1 May 1931 – 17 August 2011) was a Swiss watch designer and artist. He is known for his eponymous line of timepieces as well as his design work with other high-end watch manufacturers, including IWC, Omega SA, Universal ...

. The fictional character Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's novels was said to wear a Mickey Mouse watch as a reminder "to stay young at heart."

Other products

In 1989, Milton Bradley released the electronic talking game titled ''Mickey Says'', with three modes featuring Mickey Mouse as its host. Mickey also appeared in other toys and games, including the Worlds of Wonder released ''The Talking Mickey Mouse''.

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen ...

has produced a line of talking animatronic Mickey dolls including "Dance Star Mickey" (2010) and "Rock Star Mickey" (2011). In total, approximately 40% of Disney's revenues for consumer products are derived from Mickey Mouse merchandise, with revenues peaking in 1997.

Social impact

Use in politics

In the United States,

protest votes A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote) is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms a ...

are often made in order to indicate dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates presented on a particular ballot or to highlight the inadequacies of a particular voting procedure. Since most states' electoral systems do not provide for blank balloting or a choice of "

None of the Above "None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting syste ...

", most protest votes take the form of a clearly non-serious candidate's name entered as a

write-in vote A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be pos ...

. Mickey Mouse is often selected for this purpose. As an election supervisor in Georgia observed, "If Mickey Mouse doesn’t get votes in our election, it’s a bad election." The earliest known mention of Mickey Mouse as a write-in candidate dates back to the 1932

New York City mayoral elections The mayor of New York City is elected in early November every four years, in the year immediately following a United States presidential election year, and takes office at the beginning of the following year. The city, which elects the mayor as i ...

. Mickey Mouse's name has also been known to appear fraudulently on voter registration lists, such as in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.

Pejorative use of Mickey's name

"Mickey Mouse" is a slang expression meaning small-time, amateurish or trivial. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it also means poor quality or counterfeit. In Poland the phrase "mały Miki", which translates to "small Mickey", means something very simple and trivial - usually used in the comparison between two things. However, in parts of Australia it can mean excellent or very good (rhyming slang for "grouse"). Examples of the negative usages include the following: * In '' The Godfather Part II'',

Fredo Fredo is a masculine given name, and diminutive of Alfredo or Federico, which may refer to: People * Getúlio Fredo (born 1954), Brazilian football manager * Fredo Santana (1990–2018), stage name of American rapper Derrick Coleman (born 1990) ...

's justification of betraying Michael is that his orders in the family usually were "Send Fredo off to do this, send Fredo off to do that! Let Fredo take care of some Mickey Mouse nightclub somewhere!" as opposed to more meaningful tasks. * In an early episode of the 1978–82 sitcom '' Mork & Mindy'', Mork stated that

was "a Mickey Mouse planet", referring to the future

dwarf planet A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit of the Sun, smaller than any of the eight classical planets but still a world in its own right. The prototypical dwarf planet is Pluto. The interest of dwarf planets to ...

having the same name as Mickey's pet dog

. * On November 19, 1983, just after an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

game in which

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

beat the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

13–4, Gretzky was quoted as saying to a reporter, "Well, it's time they got their act together, they're ruining the whole league. They had better stop running a Mickey Mouse organization and put somebody on the ice". Reacting to Gretzky's comment, Devils fans wore Mickey Mouse apparel when the Oilers returned to New Jersey on January 15, 1984, despite a 5–4 Devils loss. * In the 1996 Warner Bros. film ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel ...

'',

derogatorily comments on

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...

's idea for the name of their basketball team, asking: "What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would name a team 'The Ducks?'" (This also referenced the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

, an NHL team that was then owned by Disney, as well as the Disney-made '' The Mighty Ducks'' movie franchise. This was referencing the Disney/Warner Brothers rivalry.) * In schools a "Mickey Mouse course", "Mickey Mouse major", or " Mickey Mouse degree" is a class, college major, or degree where very little effort is necessary in order to attain a good grade (especially an A) or one where the subject matter of such a class is not of any importance in the labor market. * Musicians often refer to a film score that directly follows each action on screen, sometimes pejoratively, as ''

Mickey Mousing In animation and film, "Mickey Mousing" (synchronized, mirrored, or parallel scoring) is a film technique that syncs the accompanying music with the actions on screen. "Matching movement to music," or, "The exact segmentation of the music analo ...

'' (also ''mickey-mousing'' and ''mickeymousing''). * In the beginning of the 1980s, then-British Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

once called the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

a "Mickey Mouse parliament", meaning a discussion club without influence.

Parodies and criticism

Mickey Mouse's global fame has made him both a symbol of

and of the United States itself. For this reason, Mickey has been used frequently in

anti-American Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general. Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...

satire, such as the infamous underground cartoon "'' Mickey Mouse in Vietnam''" (1969). There have been numerous parodies of Mickey Mouse, such as the two-page parody ''"Mickey Rodent"'' by

Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...

(published in '' Mad'' #19, 1955) in which the mouse walks around unshaven and jails

out of jealousy over the duck's larger popularity. The grotesque

Rat Fink Rat Fink is one of several hot rod characters created by artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, one of the originators of Kustom Kulture of automobile enthusiasts. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Rat Fink is usually portrayed as e ...

character was created by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth over his hatred of Mickey Mouse. In ''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American Animation, animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman (animator), David Silverman and star ...

'',

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Sh ...

puts a black bra on his head to mimic Mickey Mouse and says: "I'm the mascot of an

evil corporation An evil corporation is a trope in popular culture that portrays a corporation as ignoring social responsibility, morality, ethics, and sometimes laws in order to make profit for its shareholders. In rare cases, the corporation may be well inten ...

!" ''The Simpsons'' would later become Disney property as its distributor Fox was acquired by Disney. On the Comedy Central series ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

'', Mickey is depicted as the sadistic, greedy, foul-mouthed boss of

, only interested in money. He also appears briefly with

in the comic ''

Squeak the Mouse ''Squeak the Mouse'' is an Italian adult black comedy comic strip and later comic book created by artist Massimo Mattioli. The comic depicts attempts by its title character, the anthropomorphic Squeak the Mouse, to outwit a cat who is chasing him ...

'' by the Italian cartoonist

Massimo Mattioli Massimo Mattioli (25 September 1943 – 23 August 2019) was an Italian artist and cartoonist. Mattioli debuted in 1965 in the periodic comic book '' Il Vittorioso'' with ''Vermetto Sigh''. He was also published in ''Corto Maltese'' and ''Frigida ...

. Horst Rosenthal created a comic book, '' Mickey au Camp de Gurs'' (''Mickey Mouse in the Gurs Internment Camp'') while detained in the

Gurs internment camp Gurs internment camp was an internment camp and prisoner of war camp constructed in 1939 in Gurs, a site in southwestern France, not far from Pau. The camp was originally set up by the French government after the fall of Catalonia at the ...

during the Second World War; he added "Publié Sans Autorisation de Walt Disney" ("Published without Walt Disney's Permission") to the front cover. In the 1969 parody novel '' Bored of the Rings'', Mickey Mouse is satirized as Dickey Dragon. In the fifth episode of the Japanese anime, ''

Pop Team Epic is a Japanese four-panel surreal comedy webcomic and digital manga series written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa (alternatively romanized as "Bukubu Okawa"), which started serialization on Takeshobo's ''Manga Life Win'' website in August 201 ...

'', Popuko, one of the main characters, attempts an impression of Mickey, but does so poorly.

Legal issues

Like all major Disney characters, Mickey Mouse is not only

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

ed but also trademarked, which lasts in perpetuity as long as it continues to be used commercially by its owner. So, whether or not a particular Disney cartoon goes into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

, the characters themselves may not be used as trademarks without authorization. Because of the Copyright Term Extension Act of the United States (sometimes called the 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act' because of extensive lobbying by the Disney corporation) and similar legislation within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

and other jurisdictions where copyright terms have been extended, works such as the early Mickey Mouse cartoons will remain under copyright until at least 2024. However, some copyright scholars argue that Disney's copyright on the earliest version of the character may be invalid due to ambiguity in the copyright notice for '' Steamboat Willie''. The Walt Disney Company has become well known for protecting its trademark on the Mickey Mouse character—whose likeness is closely associated with the company—with particular zeal. In 1989, Disney threatened legal action against three daycare centers in the

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

region (where

is a dominant employer) for having Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters painted on their walls. The characters were removed, and the newly opened rival

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida (also known as Universal Studios or USF) is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Primarily themed to movies, television and other aspects of the entertainment industry, the park opened to the public on June 7, 1990 ...

allowed the centers to use their own cartoon characters with their blessing, to build community goodwill.

''Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates''

In 1971, a group of underground cartoonists calling themselves the

Air Pirates The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called ''Air Pirates Funnies'' in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by Walt Disney Productions. Founded by Dan O'Neill, the group also included Bobby Lond ...

, after a group of villains from early Mickey Mouse films, produced a comic called ''Air Pirates Funnies''. In the first issue, cartoonist

Dan O'Neill Dan O'Neill (born April 21, 1942) is an American underground cartoonist, creator of the syndicated comic strip ''Odd Bodkins'' and founder of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates. Education O'Neill attended the University of ...

depicted Mickey and Minnie Mouse engaging in explicit sexual behavior and consuming drugs. As O'Neill explained, "The air pirates were...some sort of bizarre concept to steal the air, pirate the air, steal the media....Since we were cartoonists, the logical thing was Disney." Rather than change the appearance or name of the character, which O'Neill felt would dilute the parody, the mouse depicted in ''Air Pirates Funnies'' looks like and is named "Mickey Mouse". Disney sued for copyright infringement, and after a series of appeals, O'Neill eventually lost and was ordered to pay Disney $1.9 million. The outcome of the case remains controversial among free-speech advocates.

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include ...

professor Edward Samuels said, "The Air Pirates set parody back twenty years." Copyright Infringement Mickey Mouse Myanmar

Copyright status

There have been multiple attempts to argue that certain versions of Mickey Mouse are in fact in the

. In the 1980s, archivist George S. Brown attempted to recreate and sell cels from the 1933 short "The Mad Doctor", on the theory that they were in the public domain because Disney had failed to renew the copyright as required by current law. However, Disney successfully sued Brown to prevent such sale, arguing that the lapse in copyright for "The Mad Doctor" did not put Mickey Mouse in the public domain because of the copyright in the earlier films. Brown attempted to appeal, noting imperfections in the earlier copyright claims, but the court dismissed his argument as untimely. In 1999, Lauren Vanpelt, a law student at Arizona State University, wrote a paper making a similar argument. Vanpelt points out that copyright law at the time required a copyright notice specify the year of the copyright and the copyright owner's name. The title cards to early Mickey Mouse films "Steamboat Willie", "Plane Crazy", and "Gallopin' Gaucho" do not clearly identify the copyright owner, and also misidentify the copyright year. However, Vanpelt notes that copyright cards in other early films may have been done correctly, which could make Mickey Mouse "protected as a component part of the larger copyrighted films". A 2003 article by Douglas A. Hedenkamp in the ''Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal'' analyzed Vanpelt's arguments, and concluded that she is likely correct. Hedenkamp provided additional arguments, and identified some errors in Vanpelt's paper, but still found that due to imperfections in the copyright notice on the title cards, Walt Disney forfeited his copyright in Mickey Mouse. He concluded: "The forfeiture occurred at the moment of publication, and the law of that time was clear: publication without proper notice irrevocably forfeited copyright protection." Disney threatened to sue Hedenkamp for

slander of title In law, slander of title is normally a claim involving real estate in which one entity publishes a false statement that disparages or clouds another entity's title to property, causing a financial loss. Alternatively, it is casting aspersion on som ...

, but did not follow through. The claims in Vanpelt and Hedenkamp's articles have not been tested in court.

Censorship

In 1930, the German Board of Film Censors prohibited any presentations of the 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon '' The Barnyard Battle''. The animated short, which features the mouse as a

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

-wearing soldier fighting cat enemies in German-style helmets, was viewed by censors as a negative portrayal of Germany. It was claimed by the board that the film would "reawaken the latest anti-German feeling existing abroad since the War". The ''Barnyard Battle'' incident did not incite wider anti-Mickey sentiment in Germany in 1930; however, after

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

came to power several years later, the Nazi regime unambiguously propagandized against Disney. A mid-1930s German newspaper article read: American cartoonist and writer

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel '' Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade'' and '' Ra ...

would later use this quote on the opening page of the second volume of his graphic novel ''

Maus ''Maus'' is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman, serialized from 1980 to 1991. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jew and The Holocaust, Holocaust su ...

''. In 1935 Romanian authorities also

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meanin ...

Mickey Mouse films from cinemas, purportedly fearing that children would be "scared to see a ten-foot mouse in the movie theatre". In 1938, based on the

Ministry of Popular Culture The Ministry of Popular Culture ( it, Ministero della Cultura Popolare, commonly abbreviated to MinCulPop) was a ministry of the Italian government from 1937 to 1944. History It was established by the Fascist government in 1922 as the ''Press ...

's recommendation that a reform was necessary "to raise children in the firm and imperialist spirit of the Fascist revolution", the

Italian Government The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President. The Italian Consti ...

banned foreign children's literature except Mickey; Disney characters were exempted from the decree for the "acknowledged artistic merit" of Disney's work. Actually, Mussolini's children were fond of Mickey Mouse, so they managed to delay his ban as long as possible.Francesco De Giacomo, ''Quando il duce salvò Topolino'', IF terza serie, n. 4, 1995. In 1942, after Italy declared war on the United States, fascism immediately forced Italian publishers to stop printing any Disney stories. Mickey's stories were replaced by the adventures of '' Tuffolino'', a new human character that looked like Mickey, created by

Federico Pedrocchi Federico Pedrocchi (1 May 1907 – 20 January 1945) was an Italian comic book artist and writer. He sometimes used the pen name Costanzo Federici. He founded the magazine '' Paperino e altre avventure'' (''Donald Duck and Other Adventures'') in 193 ...

(script) and

Pier Lorenzo De Vita Pier Lorenzo De Vita (21 November 1909 – 7 April 1990) was an Italian comic book artist. Life and career Born in Castiglione Olona, De Vita made his professional debut in 1934 in the magazine ''Jumbo''. In 1936 he started collaborating with ' an ...

(art). After the downfall of Italy's fascist government in 1945, the ban was removed.

Filmography

Selected short films

* '' Steamboat Willie'' (1928) * '' Plane Crazy'' (1928) * '' The Karnival Kid'' (1929) * '' Mickey's Orphans'' (1931) * '' Building a Building'' (1933) * '' The Mad Doctor'' (1933) * '' The Band Concert'' (1935) * '' Thru the Mirror'' (1936) * '' Moving Day'' (1936) * ''

'' (1937) * '' Lonesome Ghosts'' (1937) * ''

'' (1938) * ''

'' (1939) * '' The Nifty Nineties'' (1941) * '' Lend a Paw'' (1941) * ''

Symphony Hour ''Symphony Hour'' is a 1942 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon depicts Mickey Mouse conducting a symphony orchestra sponsored by Pete. The film was directed by Riley T ...

'' (1942) * ''

'' (1946) * '' Mickey and the Seal'' (1948) * '' The Simple Things'' (1953) * ''

'' (1983) * '' Runaway Brain'' (1995) * '' Get a Horse!'' (2013)

Full-length films

* '' Hollywood Party'' (cameo, 1934) * ''

'' (1940) * '' Fun and Fancy Free'' (1947) * ''

'' (cameo, 1988) * '' A Goofy Movie'' (cameo, 1995) * ''

'' (1999) (DTV) * ''

Fantasia 2000 ''Fantasia 2000'' is a 1999 American animated musical anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distin ...

'' (1999) * '' Mickey's Magical Christmas'' (2001) (DTV) * '' Mickey's House of Villains'' (2002) (DTV) * '' Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers'' (2004) (DTV) * ''

'' (2004) (DTV) (''Note: DTV means

Direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...

'')

Television series

* ''

'' (1955–1959; 1977–1979; 1989–1994) * ''

'' (1999–2000) * ''

'' (2001–2003) * ''

'' (2006–2016) * ''

'' (2013–2019) * ''

'' (2017–2021) * ''

'' (2020–present) * ''

'' (2021–present)

Awards and honors

Mickey Mouse has received ten nominations for the

. These are ''Mickey's Orphans'' (1931), '' Building a Building'' (1933), ''

'' (1938), ''The Pointer'' (1939), '' Lend a Paw'' (1941), ''

'' (1946), '' Mickey and the Seal'' (1948), ''

'' (1983), '' Runaway Brain'' (1995), and '' Get a Horse!'' (2013). Among these, ''Lend a Paw'' was the only film to actually win the award. Additionally, in 1932 Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation and popularity. In 1994, four of Mickey's cartoons were included in the book '' The 50 Greatest Cartoons'' which listed the greatest cartoons of all time as voted by members of the animation field. The films were '' The Band Concert'' (#3), '' Steamboat Willie'' (#13), ''Brave Little Tailor'' (#26), and ''

'' (#27). On November 18, 1978, in honor of his 50th anniversary, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the

. The star is located on 6925 Hollywood Blvd.

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

(Australia) runs the annual Moomba festival street procession and appointed Mickey Mouse as their ''King of Moomba'' (1977). Although immensely popular with children, there was controversy with the appointment: some Melburnians wanted a 'home-grown' choice, e.g. Blinky Bill; when it was revealed that Patricia O'Carroll (from Disneyland's Disney on Parade show) was performing the mouse, Australian newspapers reported "Mickey Mouse is really a girl!" Mickey was the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 2005. He was the first cartoon character to receive the honor and only the second fictional character after

in 1996.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* *
Mickey Mouse
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Mickey Mouse's Campaign Website (as archived on August 3, 2008)

– ''Daily Telegraph'' obituary

at

Creators Syndicate Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...

Mickey Mouse
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

. {{Authority control Mickey Mouse Disney animated characters American culture Cartoon mascots Corporate mascots Disney comics characters Disney core universe characters Fictional characters from Calisota Fictional dancers Fictional singers Fictional wizards Anthropomorphic mice and rats Film characters introduced in 1928 Film studio mascots Mascots introduced in 1928 Magazine mascots Male characters in animation Male characters in advertising Male characters in comics Rodent mascots Animated characters Animated characters introduced in 1928

History

Film

Origin

Debut (1928)

Black and white films (1929–1935)

Color films (1935–1953)

Television and later films

Comics

Portrayal

Design

Voice actors

Merchandising

Disney parks

Video games

Watches and clock

Other products

Social impact

Use in politics

Pejorative use of Mickey's name

Parodies and criticism

Legal issues

''Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates''

Copyright status

Censorship

Filmography

Selected short films

Full-length films

Television series

Awards and honors

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links